Many of us watch the news each evening and wonder sadly how we as a country wandered so far off course? It doesn’t seem like that long ago when we as Americans were proud of the values we held – proud of our faith, proud of our work ethic, proud of what our nation stood for, proud that we lived in a land where we were free to pursue the dream that is uniquely American — the dream of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

 

How quickly things have changed. It seems almost unbelievable. Yet if we look back at the underpinnings, we can see the shift that began long ago, and has led us to this place.

 

Here is an excerpt from my new book, Peace For a Lifetime, that shares the importance of anchors to a ship and to our lives. The truth is, just because we’ve found ourselves wandering off course doesn’t mean we have to continue wandering off course. We can re-establish our anchors. We can find the strength again that comes from a strong belief system rooted and grounded in our faith. We can re-discover our identity and create a foundation of peace. It is never too late.

 

Somewhere along the way, we seem to have lost our anchors. We have become unhooked from something larger than ourselves, and we are drifting— uncertain of where we’ve been, of where we’re going, of whom we are. When a ship is at anchor, that ship is more steady, more stable, its movements more controlled, and its energies better harnessed and disciplined. External forces such as wind and rain do little to shake the ship from its moorings or its purpose. If she slips her anchor, the ship becomes helplessly adrift. With no stability, the ship is at the mercy of nature—tossed about by the wind, left to wander aimlessly through the sea with no clear purpose or direction.

We are in many ways as a society, as a community, as a church, and as individuals as adrift as that ship. Where we lost our moorings, I’m not sure— perhaps when we eliminated prayer in the classroom, or when we began the process of removing God from every aspect of our government and our lives. What I do know is somehow, little by little, we began to slip away from a faith, a belief- system larger than ourselves to which we as a society were anchored. We didn’t pay much attention at first—the changes were small, imperceptible to most. But little by little, we too have become helplessly adrift. We say a prayer before we open a session of Congress, but most of our leaders have grown cynical and corrupt. They are no longer anchored to something that teaches and inspires them to grow in and hold firm to the virtues of character and integrity.

We say a vow before God as we enter into marriage, but countless marriage vows are broken and families destroyed because we are no longer tied to something larger than ourselves. Those tenets that guide our thoughts and behaviors and teach us to value honesty, integrity, and morality have been lost. We spend endless hours and dollars on education in an attempt to teach citizenship, honesty, and character to our children, but bullying, cheating, drugs, immorality, and disrespect have all reached epidemic proportions. We have systematically removed every anchor in society that tied us to anyone or anything greater than ourselves. In our pride and arrogance, we assumed we could teach these values, instill them in our children, and live them on our own without God. What we find is we’ve become a society that is a ship without an anchor. We have become disconnected from something larger that would provide stability, identity, direction, and purpose.

 

 

Do you feel like you are anchored into something greater than yourself today? Is there something that gives strength, meaning, and purpose to your life? Do you feel like you are wandering helplessly through life, never sure of what, if anything, you are committed to or where you are going?

 

Anchors are good. Anchors are strong. Anchors provide what we need to build a stable, abundant life. The materials in my book, Peace for a Lifetime, will give you more information and tools to help you build a strong, solid anchor for your life so that you can create and experience an indestructible peace —not just for today, not just for tomorrow, but peace…for a lifetime!

 

 To learn more about the book, click HERE!

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